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Manage remote employees by setting clear outcomes, discussing progress regularly, and providing support—not by treating digital activity as a proxy for good work. Monitoring can serve a defined safety or security purpose, but evidence does not show that more surveillance is a universal path to better performance. If you monitor, explain why, use the least intrusive method that can meet the aim, and give employees a way to correct inaccurate conclusions.
What effective remote performance management looks like
Performance management is a continuing process, not a software setting. Acas describes it as setting targets, explaining how performance will be monitored, discussing performance, assessing progress against targets, supporting improvement, and making expectations clear when performance falls short. For home-based work, that means adapting the policy with employees rather than simply transplanting office practices.
Begin with the work: what outcome is expected, what quality standard applies, who is responsible, and by when. Choose measures that reflect those responsibilities. A visible sign of activity—such as time at a keyboard—may not show whether someone is producing accurate, useful work.
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Hold regular performance conversations about progress, blockers, workload, and support needs. If expectations are not being met, describe the gap and the required improvement clearly, then agree on support and a time to review progress. This gives employees a chance to explain relevant context before a metric or missed target becomes a conclusion about their performance.
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Acas advises employers to trust employees to do their jobs wherever they work. That does not mean avoiding accountability; it means making expectations and assessment fair and understandable.
What the evidence says about workplace surveillance
There is no sound basis for claiming that employee monitoring always improves performance or always harms it. A 2025 U.S. Government Accountability Office review examined 122 studies published from 2020 through 2024 on surveillance effects involving physical health and safety, mental health, and employment opportunities. GAO found possible benefits, including safety benefits in some settings, alongside possible stress and anxiety, injury risk when workers feel pressure to meet targets, and inaccurate performance assessments. The review also notes limitations in the studies. Read the GAO report.
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A field study is informative about its own setting, not a forecast for every workplace. Yea Hee Ko and In Gyun Baek reported a 7.1% productivity increase after computer monitoring was introduced for telecommuters in their field setting, as well as a significant increase in departure rates. The article appeared in Management Science, volume 71, issue 1, in January 2025, after online publication on March 26, 2024. Those findings do not establish that another employer should expect a 7.1% increase. Read the study.
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When monitoring may be justified
Start with a specific problem, not with a tool you already have. A safety measure designed for a particular task or a security control protecting sensitive information may have a legitimate purpose. That purpose does not automatically justify using screenshots, webcam checks, or keystroke counts to score everyone’s productivity. Safety and security monitoring should be assessed on their own merits, separately from routine performance measurement.
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Before introducing any monitoring, ask whether a less intrusive method can achieve the same aim. Acas recommends an impact assessment and consultation with workers. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) likewise advises choosing the least intrusive means and cautions that a method’s availability does not make it appropriate. Acas guidance on monitoring performance and ICO guidance on data protection and worker monitoring explain these principles.
How to introduce monitoring responsibly
- Define the purpose. State the problem the monitoring is intended to address and the decision the information may inform. Do not collect data “just in case” or quietly repurpose it for a different goal.
- Check necessity and alternatives. Decide whether a less intrusive approach can meet the purpose. Consider the burden on employees as well as the likely usefulness of the data.
- Consult and give notice. Explain what information is collected, why it is collected, who can access it, how it will be used, and what employees can do if a result appears wrong. Acas advises consultation and notice, except in extremely limited circumstances.
- Limit collection and retention. Gather only information relevant to the stated purpose, restrict access, and decide how long it is needed. Review whether monitoring remains necessary rather than letting collection continue by default.
- Check accuracy and context. A monitoring result is not self-explanatory. Give employees a way to see and, when needed, explain or challenge information—especially when it may affect a performance review or adverse decision.
- Review the effects. Reassess whether the measure is achieving its purpose and whether it is creating avoidable stress, undermining trust, or producing misleading assessments. Change or stop it if it is not justified in practice.
How to choose a fair measure
Use these questions to compare approaches; they are considerations, not a universal scoring system:
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- Does the measure capture meaningful work or merely visible activity?
- Does it address a clearly stated problem?
- How intrusive is it, and what burden does it place on workers?
- Have employees had a chance to understand and comment on it?
- Can the information be interpreted accurately in context, and can workers challenge it?
- What effects might it have on trust, wellbeing, and retention?
- Does it fit the applicable data-protection and employment rules?
Legal and regional context
The guidance has jurisdictional limits. Acas discusses UK employment practice, and the ICO interprets UK data-protection rules; neither is a universal legal checklist. GAO’s report is a U.S. government evidence and oversight report, not legal advice. The Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner’s 2025 overview describes research and legal frameworks across jurisdictions, but it does not replace advice specific to an employer’s location and practices. See the Ontario report overview. Employers should seek advice tailored to their jurisdiction, workforce, monitoring purpose, and data practices.
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